Many commercially manufactured cabinet and furniture products are formed from a plurality of wooden, composite or plastic members which are joined together by a plurality of fasteners, most usually wood screws. In many instances, the wood screws are positioned in screw pockets or mortises formed in the joinery member adjacent to an edge of the member, which edge is then secured to a second joinery member.
A typical prior art cabinetry or furniture joint is shown in FIG. 1. A first joinery member 21 is shown in abutting relation to a second member 22. First and second members 21 and 22 are secured together by a fastener, in this case a wood or pocket screw 23, which is mounted in a pocket 24 in the first joinery member. A bore 26 extends from edge 27 of the first joinery member to pocket 24, and screw 23 is positioned in bore 26 and screwed into the second joinery member 22 to secure the assembly together as a unit. Typically, a plurality of fasteners 23 will be used along the length of the two members being joined, and second member 22 may be provided with pre-drilled holes or bores which receive the screws and make driving of the same easier. Pocketed securement together of two joinery members is often employed to join face frames of various structures, but it also can be employed to secure panels together and combinations of panels and frame members.
The formation of screw pocket 24 can be accomplished using various types of equipment. One of the most efficient ways of forming pocket 24 and bore 26, however, is set forth in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,719. Subsequently I have devised a hand-held screw pocket forming apparatus, which is shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,982, and pocket or mortise inserts are shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,627.
If the number of members to be joined together is relatively small, the apparatus of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,603,719 and 5,063,982 can be employed, and the wood working fabricator can manually place fasteners or pocket screws 23 into pockets 26. In the do-it-yourself or low volume contexts, therefore, it is relatively easy and not too time consuming to simply manually position the pocket screws for screwing into the other joinery member using a powered or unpowered screwdriver.
In high production situations, however, fabrication lines need to be partially or fully automated, and one of the most difficult tasks in a joinery production line is to automate the positioning of fasteners in the joinery members so that they can be fastened together using a power screwdriver. It is highly undesirable in high production applications, therefore, to form the pocket 24 and bore 26 automatically and yet have to employ manual labor to insert fasteners in the bores for subsequent powered screwing together of the joinery pieces.
Several problems are encountered which make automating a joinery production line difficult. One is the need to move the joinery members during the process. Such movement will tend to cause fasteners to vibrate or fall out of the pockets before they can be screwed into another member to join the two members together. Another problem is the need to control the orientation and location of the pointed ends of the fasteners or pocket screws. Thus, automated placement of wood screws in small diameter bores, such as bore 26, can be difficult. Such placement requires that the pocket screw pointed end be aligned with the bore within relatively close tolerances so that the fastener will not be jammed into the end wall of the pocket adjacent to bore 26 and thereby shut down the production line.
While existing pocket screws are suitable for use in high production applications, using the apparatus and process of the present invention, such conventional pocket screws or wood screws are not formed in a manner which makes them ideal for the present process and apparatus. Moreover, conventional screw pocket forming apparatus, including my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,603,719 and 5,063,982, produce pockets or mortises having a screw receiving bore 26 which also is somewhat less than ideal for use in the present apparatus and process.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and process for automated placement of fasteners, and particularly pocket screws, into joinery members for subsequent fastening together of the joinery members in a high production setting.
A further object of the present invention is provide an improved pocket screw construction which enhances placement of the pocket screws in joinery members in a production line for subsequent formation of joinery assemblies.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved pocket screw which is better suited for joining pocketed joinery members.
The process, apparatus and resulting joinery member of the present invention have other objects and features of advantage which will become apparent from, or are set forth in more detail in, the accompanying drawing and following Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention.